IT information for new students

IT at St John’s and Oxford University can be confusing as
some computing services are handled directly by the College and others are
managed centrally by the University. For example, College manages the network connections within St John's and the student rooms. Other services such as email
are handled centrally by the University’s IT Services department. Some services
like the wireless are part College and part centrally run. This section aims to
explain the main systems you will encounter and who can help in case of
problems.

This year's Freshers Week timetable does not include a separate IT introductory lecture however the slides from theIT Induction talk 2017are still available (as a PDF). The IT Team will also be available in the IT Office (N7/1) during the week to help answer IT questions and give guidance on getting online.

Printing

College provides free mono printing to current members for academic purposes. You can print via the web and collect it (within 14 hours) from the printers in the RE Building, Library, JCR Lounge (for under-graduates) or the MCR (for post-graduate students).

The Network - getting connected to the wireless

St John’s College offers the University Eduroam and OWL wireless systems.

As well as being available throughout St John’s College the Eduroam service is available around Oxford University and at approximately 6000 hotspots in other Universities, academic and research institutions across Europe and beyond.

Eduroam is the preferred network for mobile devices as, once configured, it automatically connects when in range and you do not need to enter any additional passwords.

OWL is an Oxford only network which requires a VPN client to work. OWL may be better for laptop users as it usually offers a faster connection speed. Also since it requires VPN to work it also allows access to ‘Oxford only’ journals and resources. The small downside is you have to run the VPN software each time you connect (but you don’t need a password to link to the OWL network itself). OWL will automatically disconnect the VPN software if you move our of range which is why it’s not well suited for mobile use.

If you are a member of St John’s College with a valid University card and Single Sign On account you can register for a ‘remote access’ password to be able to use either Eduroam or OWL wireless.

1. Visit the Eduroam CAT website at : https://cat.eduroam.org2. Click the 'eduroam user: download your eduroam installer' button at the bottom of the webpage3. Search 'University of Oxford' – installers for other institutions will not work with your OXFORD credentials!4. You will then be presented with various installers – choose your operating system5. Once the installer has downloaded run the installer program6. When prompted for username and password make sure you append @OX.AC.UK to your username (e.g. sjoh9999@OX.AC.UK)7. Once installed (and you are within range of an Eduroam Wireless network) you may be prompted to enter your user credentials again – as a final security check; after which your computer / device will remember your password so you don’t have to keep typing it in.

Students are reminded that running their own wireless network is not permitted under University wireless rules.

Wireless for official visitors and visiting academics

There is a version of OWL, known as OWL Visitor for official academic visitors to St John’s College. I’m afraid it’s not for general public use. If you are an official visitor you may be able to arrange credentials to access the OWL Visitor service from the person who invited you. All visitor connections need to be approved by the College and may require a senior member as a 'sponsor' so please enquire in advance of your visit.

The Network - getting connected using a cable

If you have your own suitable computer (Windows Vista or later, Mac OS 10.7 or later) and it is in working order it can be connected to the college network, providing access to the Internet including email, the web and other network services.

St John’s College uses an automated registration system called Bradford Campus Manager to connect to the college network. Plug your computer in to an ethernet port in your room, and when you open a web page you will automatically be redirected to the registration web pages. You must complete the registration process before you can get online. Simply follow the on-screen instructions.

You will need to enter your Single Sign On credentials (the same as you use for email). This will register your computer and take you on to the next stage on the Bradford Campus Manager server called eeyore.sjc.ox.ac.uk.

Once you have verified your credentials your computer will be switched into a new area where you will be asked to download the Bradford Dissolvable Agent (BDA) application. This application checks your computer against our agreed network security policies. This ensures that your computer meets the minimum security level required for access to this Network. It is a requirement that users must scan their computers in order to verify that your computer meets the network security policies.

Once completed you will be able to connect to the Internet.

Before you arrive at St John's, you can check whether your computer will be compatible with the College systems. This will help you to get online as quickly as possible.

The results will tell you if you pass or fail the requirements for connecting in College. If your computer fails you will get details of why it has failed, which will help you update your computer before you arrive.

Support

If you need IT support please contact us on it-support@sjc.ox.ac.uk or you can phone (01865 2) 77365 or call in to the IT Office by the Bursary entrance in North Quad (N7/1). We are in and out of the office during the working day (9am to 5pm Monday to Friday) so it's best, where possible, to email or call first to arrange a time to come in.

We will try and help users where we can and we are able to help and advise on a lot of issues, however for some problems, especially those on systems run centrally by the University, we may need to refer to you to the University's IT Services team (see below). If you have a problem with any departmental specific service or software it's best to contact your departmental IT Support team.

Microsoft Office

The University makes available to students and staff Microsoft Office 365. Students and staff should sign in via their usual Single Sign On login.

There is more information on our Office 365 page about accessing the system and downloading Office onto your own computer.

Anti-virus software

Sophos is available to students free of charge. For further information and to download the software please see the IT Services Antivirus page.

Vacation access to online resources

A number of services, for example online journals, can normally be accessed
only from within the University network and you will need to use the Oxford VPN
service to access these from outside the University.